1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ice machines and more particularly to making ice on an evaporator assembly.
2. Background Art
Commercial ice machines are used in hotels, restaurants, and other public establishments.
Refrigerant passes through copper tubing in a commercial ice machine. The copper tubing is generally adjacent to an evaporator plate that comprises a flat metal plate. The evaporator plate is cooled by refrigerant flowing through the copper tubing. Ice is formed on a surface of the evaporator plate as water flows over the surface and is cooled. When the ice reaches its desired size, a hot gas defrost is run through the copper tubing and releases the ice cubes from the evaporator plate. The ice cubes fall into an ice bin after they are released and are stored for later use.
There are many problems with the commercial ice machines. There are often many parts associated with the evaporator assembly. The large number of parts contributes to ice machine break downs. Substantial maintenance is required to keep the ice machine functioning properly. Further, spare parts for ice machines are expensive to obtain or fabricate. Evaporator plates are also often constructed using thin copper or stainless steel plates that are easily damaged.
One example of an ice machine evaporator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,827 to Broadbent. This patent describes an evaporator constructed from an aluminum roll-bond type evaporator plate. This evaporator is formed from a flat sheet of aluminum that has integrally formed serpentine refrigerant passages. A plastic grid is attached to one or both sides of the aluminum evaporator plate. The grid forms an array of exposed aluminum areas where the ice may form. This disclosed embodiment is relatively expensive and requires a great deal of labor to form the evaporator plate. The evaporator plate and plastic grids are expensive to replace if they are damaged.
There is a need to reduce the cost of producing an evaporator assembly and reduce the number of parts required to construct the evaporator assembly. There is also a need to increase the overall durability of the evaporator plates.
The above problems are addressed in the present invention and summarized below.